Canadian Award-winning feature documentary, Living Downstream, coming to major Canadian cities–and your living room

Canadian screening tour in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax; forthcoming DVD release and US cable launch

Toronto, ON (September 2012) - The People’s Picture Company is proud to announce a Canadian screening tour and the simultaneous Home Video DVD release of their award winning feature-length documentary, Living Downstream. This autumn, filmgoers in Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa and Montreal will be able to view the 85-minute film in select theatres.

The Home Video DVD version of Living Downstream will also be available for purchase in fall 2012. As well, major US cablecaster, Outside TV, will air the documentary later this year to a US audience of several million viewers. This series of screening events will be kicked off with a special screening of Living Downstream at New York City's iconic Lincoln Center on October 20, 2012.

“I am delighted that Living Downstream is continuing to play to large audiences more than two years after its initial release,” says the film’s director, Toronto-based filmmaker Chanda Chevannes. “The film is currently in wide use by film festivals, non-profit organizations and educational institutions, but the public continues to have a hunger for the kind of information presented in the film.

I feel privileged to have the opportunity to use the upcoming screenings and DVD release to bring my documentary film to new audiences,” says Chevannes, who will be in attendance for a Q&A panel at the close of each Canadian screening.

Living Downstream is an eloquent feature-length documentary that charts the life and work of Sandra Steingraber: an American biologist, author, cancer survivor and cancer prevention advocate. The feature also documents the growing body of scientific evidence linking human health with the health of our environment.

The film is based on the book of the same name, which has won praise from international media and has been embraced by educators, health care professionals, and activists as part of a larger movement of environmental health awareness. In addition to Steingraber herself, the film features several leading experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research. Living Downstream thus entwines a scientific exploration with a personal journey. The film follows Steingraber during a pivotal year in her life, speaking to groups about cancer research and prevention, while at the same time, struggling with ambiguous results from a recent cancer screening test.

The film, which has had hundreds of screenings across the continent, has won several awards, including the Special Jury Remi Award from Worldfest Houston and the Best Documentary Award from both the People’s Film Festival and the Salem Film Festival.

Living Downstream has also received high acclaim from international media. Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post says that Living Downstream is “handsomely photographed and powerfully argued…Steingraber's scientific cool and unflagging sense of mission make for an arresting portrait of a self-styled modern-day Rachel Carson” (04/23/10). CineSource Magazine says the film is an “absolute must-see. Excuse my clichés, but Living Downstream is powerful, it is inspiring, it is moving, it is – quietly, like our hero – a tear-jerker” (09/15/12) and the Free Press sums it up: “Easy to watch, hard to forget” (09/27/10).

Chevannes adds, “When I first set out to make Living Downstream, my goal was to tell the story of one extraordinary woman – Sandra Steingraber. But over the two years the film has been screening, I have seen countless audience members who have realized that they, too, can be extraordinary. I’ve seen Sandra’s words inspire others to work for big change. And that’s been the greatest reward of all.”

Screening details, tickets $10 at the door or in advance online:

Toronto: Thursday October 25, 7pm, The Royal, presented by Women's Healthy Environments Network.

Purchase advanced tickets at:

Ottawa Premiere: Monday October 29, 7pm, Mayfair Theatre, presented by Prevent Cancer Now.

Purchase advanced tickets at:

Montreal: Tuesday October 30, 7pm, Cinémathèque Québécoise, presented by Breast Cancer Action Montreal; English, with French subtitles.

Purchase advanced tickets at:

Halifax: Saturday November 3, 12pm, Empire Theatres Park Lane, presented by Breast Cancer Action Nova Scotia.

Purchase advanced tickets at:

The screenings are made possible in part by a grant from the Ontario Arts Council’s National and International Touring Program.

For more information on Living Downstream:

For DVD screeners or media interviews with Sandra Steingraber or Chanda Chevannes contact:

Kathleen O'Grady, QUOI Media Group

Mobile +1.613.897.9276 Email:

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